Greek names

With Greek given names, until the late 18th century, almost all Christian Greeks were named for Orthodox saints from the Old and New Testaments and early Christian traditions. With the Modern Greek Enlightenment and the development of Greek nationalism, names of ancient Greek figures, both deities and mortals, became fashionable and they remain so today. Byzantine names are also used.

Male names usually end in -ας, -ης, and -ος, but sometimes ancient forms are also used. Female names almost always end in -α and -η, though a few end in -ώ with -ου being possible.

When Greek names are used in other languages, they are sometimes rendered phonetically (e.g. Eleni for Ἑλένη) and sometimes by their native cognates, e.g. English 'Helen' and French 'Hélène'. In the United States, there are conventional anglicizations of some names that are not otherwise related, e.g. Jimmy/James for Δημήτρης, when in fact James is cognate to Ἰάκωβος Iakovos/Jacobus.

Since antiquity, there has been a strong tradition of naming the first son after the paternal grandfather, and the second after the maternal grandfather. This results in a continuation of names in the family line.

There is a strong clustering of first names by locality according to patron saints, famous churches or monasteries. Examples include the name Spyridon and Spyridoula in Corfu, Gerasimos in Kefalonia, Dionysia and Dionysios in Zakynthos, Andreas and Andriana in Patras, Markella and Markos in the Aegean Islands long under Venetian rule, Savvas among refugees from Asia Minor, Emmanuel (Manolis), Joseph (Sifis), Manousos and Mēnas in Crete, etc.

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